Reckel Johannes, Schatz Merle (eds.) Ancient texts and languages of ethnic groups along the Silk Road

Göttingen: Universitätsverlag Göttingen, 2021. — 227 p. — ISBN 9783863954895.Written testimonies, along with archaeological finds, are usually the only way to research the historical peoples of the region, in order to trace the development and migratory flows of languages, religions, and customs and to relate them to today’s multi-ethnic societies in Central Asia. From an archaeological point of view the extension of the so called animal style in petroglyphs and other artefacts from the steppes of the Black Sea to Southern Siberia, the Ordos region etc. is a visible bond connecting East and West during the Bronze Age or earlier. Central Asia has been dominated by Mongolian and Turkic speaking nations for the past 1300 years or so. Uyghurs and Uzbeks were the most important traders on the Central Asian Silk Roads. Earlier Sogdians and Tokharians and other ethnic groups speaking Indo-Germanic (Indo-Iranian) languages were active on these ancient trade routes. In the 18th and 19th century a Tungus language, Manchu, became important for Sinkiang, Mongolia and the whole of China. Thus the written sources cover a wide range of mainly Altaic and Indo-Germanic languages and scripts.